AIR/WATER

Siemens Builds Electric Sea Plane

August 10, 2022

German tech giants Siemens are getting into the airplane business, thanks to a partnership with sea plane builder, Regent.

Regent Craft, the all-electric sea plane manufacturer, has partnered with Siemens Digital Industries Software to help streamline the development and production of its fleet. Regent announced earlier this month that it has adopted the Siemens Xcelerator software as a service (XaaS) to support the design and engineering of its new sea glider.

Regent has been developing high-speed, zero-emission sea gliders since 2020, and it aims to have its flagship Viceroy model ready for sea trials by 2023 and in full service by 2025. The Viceroy sea plane is designed to transport cargo or up to 12 passengers over distances up to 180 miles. The company is also developing a 100-seat model dubbed the Monarch.

These sea gliders that Regent is developing are a type of wing-in-ground-effect (WIG) vehicle that can fly above the water by using an aerodynamic phenomenon called the “ground effect,” wherein the air flowing beneath the vehicle provides lift. You can think of it as a combination of a traditional seaplane and a hovercraft. The sea glider does differ from a hovercraft, though, in that it can’t hover. Also, while a hovercraft is supported by a cushion of air under downward-facing propellers, WIGs use forward-facing propellers to direct airflow beneath the craft.

These sea gliders can operate in three modes: floating on its hull when docked, foiling on hydrofoils at slower speeds (up to 40 knots), and flying at high speeds (up to 160 knots) while staying a few meters above the water’s surface.

“As our sea gliders approach certification and full-scale commercial production, we need a robust, modern digital tools platform that supports the pace of our innovation cycles with the rigor to encompass a product as complex as ours,” said Regent co-founder and chief technology officer Mike Klinker.

“Siemens Xcelerator as a Service was a perfect fit for a digital-first startup like ours,” he added. “Cloud native solutions, such as Teamcenter X, minimize administrative overhead and allow us to focus 100 percent on design, engineering, manufacturing, and innovation.”